Later
by TAKEtheCAKE
Summary: Tony and Ziva begin a conversation in the bullpen that Tony vows to finish.. later. But when is later? Blossoming romance between Tony and Ziva, rekindling of Abby and McGee's relationship, cases and.. Gibbs!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is my very first Fan Fiction ever! I'm a rabid NCIS fan so of course I had to do a story about it. I'm also a huge fan of Tony and Ziva getting together (but not too soon!) and Abby and McGee getting _back_ together. Plus, I just love me some Gibbs so my story will contain all of that and more. Review, favorite, follow, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. If I did, I wouldn't be writing Fan Fiction. In other words, you've been disclaimed.

* * *

**_Chapter 1_ The Challenge**

After what seemed like an eternity, Ziva's eyes finally met Tony's.

"That is not what I meant, Tony," said Ziva, smiling coyly.

"But you _said_.." Tony began.

"It doesn't matter what she said," interrupted Gibbs as he walked briskly past Tony's desk, cup of coffee in hand. "We've got a dead Marine in an alley. Grab your gear!"

Ziva, Tony, and McGee quickly grabbed their backpacks, glancing at one another as they made their way to the office of steel. Ziva reached the elevator first with Gibbs and McGee close on her heels. Tony reached the elevator just as the doors were about to close, squeezing himself in as Gibbs jabbed a button.

Tony took a quick peek in Ziva's direction only to see her smirking at him. Looking to his left, Tony caught McGee rolling his eyes, slightly amused at his fellow agents. Tony stuck his tongue out at McGee before looking back at Ziva who was pretending to be occupied with her coat's zipper.

_Guess we'll have to finish this conversation in private_ thought Tony, smiling to himself.

* * *

Nine hours later, Gibbs' team sat at their respective desks, silently praying that their leader would allow them to go home. It had been a long time since any of them had seen their own beds.

"I would have never guessed you could kill yourself with a plastic butter knife. But hey, if that's how you wanna go.." said Tony, shaking his head.

"Everything should be considered as a potential weapon, Tony." replied Ziva as she clicked her pen in boredom.

"Poor guy needed help." said McGee sadly. "His life was just too out of control."

The three agents sat in silence, each thinking back on the different aspects of Lt. Jerrod Kembleza's life that drove him to suicide. His wife, after cheating on him for years, had served him with divorce papers three days before his deployment. Mrs. Kembleza, Jerrod's mother, had found Jerrod's father dead from a heart attack a week earlier. And if that wasn't enough, Lt. Kembleza had just found out through an email from his wife that his only child wasn't biologically his.

About twenty minutes later, Gibbs blessed his tired team with two magical words.

"Go home!" he barked after looking his agents weary faces.

Tony and Ziva raced to pack their belongings and made a quick dash to the elevator but McGee stayed behind.

"Boss? Do you think someone could've helped Lt. Kembleza? I mean, do you think if he had a friend to go to things would've ended up differently?" asked McGee in a uncertain tone.

Gibbs rubbed a calloused hand over his tired face, knowing this case had taken a toll on the young agent.

"I don't know, McGee," answered Gibbs truthfully. "But we'll never know now."

McGee nodded solemnly, "Goodnight, Boss."

* * *

Tony and Ziva walked silently through the nearly deserted parking lot. Although it was the middle of June, a cool breeze had settled over Washington D.C., making the hot night bearable.

As they approached their cars, parked beside one another, Ziva suddenly stopped.

Concerned, Tony slowed his pace to a stop a few feet ahead of his partner.

"Something wrong, Zee?" asked Tony slowly.

"You would come to me if something was wrong, right? I am your friend, no?" questioned Ziva, chocolate eyes searching Tony's emerald ones.

Tony took two steps towards Ziva and pulled her into a tight hug, resting his chin on her soft, brown hair.

"Of course you're my friend, Ziva. Heck, you're my best friend. And I would come to you in a heartbeat." answered Tony easily.

He pulled Ziva back to look at her face. Seeing the worry and uncertainty written across it, Tony pulled her back into a hug.

"Don't worry, Zee. I'm not going anywhere," stated Tony. "Besides, if I leave, that would put you or McGee in charge and that would be a disaster!"

Ziva smiled up at Tony before taking a step back.

"I am quite certain that McGee and myself would be a much more efficient team without you," said Ziva, jokingly.

"Yeah right! You and McGoof would be beggin' me to come back!" replied Tony, fumbling with his keys.

The two laughed together, happy to have one another.

"You know, there's a great movie and beer at my place," said Tony. "Maybe you could come over. I'll even let you pick what's for dinner."

"That sounds very nice. How about Thai? I know a delicious place that is on the way." Ziva said, excited to spend more time with her charming partner.

"Sounds good! That'll give me some time to straighten up a bit," said Tony, smiling sheepishly.

Ziva winked in return. "How about a race? Winner picks the movie," she challenged.

"You're on!" yelled Tony, jumping into his car.

As he sped out of the parking lot, Tony thought to himself _Now we can finish that conversation._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note:** Shall I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed my story! Sophie, I swear this is my first story. Posting it was nerve wrecking! AliyahNCIS, I read your stories! Thanks for reviewing. To everyone else, thanks to your comments of encouragement. I will definitely be continuing the story!

**Author's Note 2**: Thanks to my dear sister, Melanie, for giving me a title and making my story BETA. (; Your little sister loves you!

* * *

_**Chapter 2 **_**Almost Doesn't Count**

Finishing off her beer, Ziva belched loudly and turned to look at Tony.

"What movie will we watch next?" asked Ziva.

"That's not very lady-like, Zee," said Tony, words slightly slurred from a mixture of intoxication and exhaustion.

After wolfing down their Thai takeout, drinking a few beers (or several in Tony's case), and watching The Notebook and Scarface, Tony DiNozzo was truly exhausted. But the fact that he had his beautiful partner beside him kept him awake.

"Well, Scarface wasn't bad but no more chick flicks," groaned Tony, referencing Ziva's first choice. "Why do you women like those angsty, drama, romance movies anyways?"

Tony slumped his body over onto Ziva's, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. Ziva playfully pushed Tony away, pretending to wipe her cheek in disgust.

"Do not rub your spot on me, Tony," said Ziva, voice full of flirtation.

"It's _snot_, Ziva, not spot," said Tony, grinning.

Ziva shrugged nonchalantly, rolling her eyes. Tony proceeded to slump back onto to Ziva, wrapping his arms around her in a mock bear hug.

"You're an American citizen now, you can't get stuff like that wrong," said Tony, teasingly. "Speaking of which, _earlier_ you said.."

Just then, Ziva's phone rang from across the room in her coat pocket. She attempted to push Tony off of her with no success. He enveloped her in his arms, preventing her from moving.

"Please let go, Tony. It may be Gibbs," said Ziva, giving her partner a gentle shove.

Tony jumped away from Ziva as if she had the plague, shuddering at the thought of Gibbs calling at this late hour. Ziva got up quickly and answered the call.

"Agent David," answered Ziva, professional persona back in place. "Yes, Gibbs. Okay. When? Yes. That is fine. I will let Tony know. See you at 0500."

Tony groaned, knowing that whenever Gibbs called it was never good. Glancing at the clock, he saw the time. 2:19am. Just as Ziva moved back the couch, Tony had finished his calculations.

"That's in two and a half hours," whined Tony, inwardly praying that Gibbs would call back with a false alarm. However, reality broke through his buzz and sleepiness. With that, Tony stood up from the couch and moved towards the kitchen.

"Coffee." he groaned as Ziva followed him into the small kitchen. "I almost saw my bed today," said Tony as he turned on the coffee maker.

"What is that saying you tell me?" asked Ziva as she sat on a bar stool, scratching her eyebrow. "Almost does not count, no?"

Tony rolled his eyes and turned to grab the creamer out of the refrigerator.

"That's right, Ms. David. Almost doesn't count." said Tony, running a hand over his face. "What are we gonna do for two hours?"

"I think we should watch Bad Boys. That is a comedy, correct?" Ziva asked, smiling at Tony.

"Sure." Tony replied, grabbing two mugs out of the cabinet.

As Ziva walked back to the living room, Tony thought back to what they talking about before Gibbs called. _Interrupted again. Hmm, we'll talk later_ Tony thought to himself, grinning as he joined his partner in the living room.

* * *

Tony could hardly stay awake while watching Bad Boys with Ziva. She spent the better half of the movie nudging and poking him before she gave up and watched the movie, letting her partner take a well-deserved nap.

It was now 0450 and the duo was the first to arrive in the bullpen.

"I'd like to think of myself as Will Smith's character, Mike, and McGee is Martin Lawrence's character, Marcus." said Tony, freshly showered and perked up from three cups of coffee. "He's not half as cool as Martin but hey, we can all have dreams!"

"And you're not half the ladies' man that Will Smith's character is, Tony," interjected McGee as he sat down at his desk, turning on his computer.

Ziva snorted, "Good morning, Tim. Did you get any sleep?"

"Not a wink, you?" replied McGee.

"We were up watching movies at my place when Gibbs called," answered Tony for his partner.

McGee raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Just as he was opening his mouth to make a comment, Gibbs descended the steps followed closely by Director Vance. Neither man looked happy, faces wearing matching frowns.

Gibbs spoke first, "Lt. Kembleza's body turned red."

His three agents, clearly confused, remained silent while their leader continued.

"Abby retested his blood and nothing came up in his system. But Duck's sure the lieutenant was poisoned. We need answers!" Gibbs told his team.

The trio hurried to their desks, still not knowing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Vance, who had been standing, silently observing, turned and walked towards the stairs to his office.

"We'll finish this conversation later, Jethro," he called over his shoulder as he ascended the steps.

The agents sat motionless at their desks. As Gibbs sat down, he sensed their hesitation.

"Do I need to draw a picture? McGee, phone records. DiNozzo, find out if Kembleza has any enemies. Ziva, re-interview the wife. Wake up, people!" barked Gibbs, turning on his own monitor.

The agents got to work quickly, following their commander's directions.

_They need more sleep_ thought Gibbs to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**: Thanks for all the feedback! As they say on Ni-Hao Kai-Lan, you make my heart super happy!

* * *

**_Chapter 3_ For Recording and Poisoning**

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab holding a Caf-Pow! in one hand and a large coffee in the other.

"I hope you've got something for me, Abs." said Gibbs, setting down the sugar-shock in a cup.

Abby spun on her the heel of her shiny, black platform boot. Smiling sweetly, she held up two objects; a thick medical dictionary and a small vial of orange-red liquid.

"Do I _ever_ let you down, Gibbs? I found several poisons that don't show up on tox screens after the subject dies. But only one will turn a body red," said Abby quickly. Gibbs waited patiently, sipping his coffee.

"Di-veridose Red or DVR. Not DVR that you use to record your favorite shows but you probably don't know what that is anyways. The nuns use DVR to..."

Gibbs cleared his throat.

"S-s-sorry," said Abby, smiling apologetically before getting back to her explanation. "It's a pretty hinky substance. It has the ability to shut down all major organs within 6 hours of ingesting." explained Abby. "Whoever gave the DVR to Lt. Kembleza was with him less than four hours before he died. It was most likely mixed into something he ate or drank. And they weren't expecting him to commit suicide before it kicked in."

"Thanks, Abs," said Gibbs, kissing her temple.

As Gibbs was leaving, McGee stepped off the elevator.

"Hey, boss. I didn't find anything worthwhile in the lieutenant's phone and email records," said McGee to Gibbs.

"I doubted you would. Find out where someone could get Di-veridose Red and get me a list of buyers," responded Gibbs as the doors of the elevators closed.

"McGee!" said Abby excitedly. "Did you bring me a Caf-Pow! too?"

"Gibbs just brought you a Caf-Pow! a few minutes ago, Abby." replied McGee, sitting down on her chair.

Abby stopped what she was doing to turn and look at McGee incredulously.

"You can never have too many Caf-Pows!, Timmy," said Abby, happily slurping from her lone cup.

"Whatever you say, Abs," said McGee, watching Abby enjoy the sickly-sweet drink before getting to the real reason for his visit. "Did you know that Ziva was with Tony last night? They watched movies together from the time we left til we came back."

Abby gasped loudly.

"WHAT? Give me the details! Are they together? Oh my gosh, how could Ziva keep that from me? Or maybe they just made it official and she hasn't had a chance to tell me," she rambled. "That's it! She's going to tell me today! Oh my gosh, McGeeeee! What if they get.."

"Abby!" interrupted McGee, shaking her gently. "We don't know anything. It could be nothing. Tony didn't seem too worried about telling me. It's probably nothing."

Abby punched McGee's arm before taking another gulp of her Caf-Pow!.

"Don't say that, McGee! They might be in love! Someone on this team deserves some romance," said Abby, grinning from ear to ear.

McGee was skeptical. "Ziva in love with Tony? Um, I can't exactly go along with that. Besides, the team has plenty of romance. We had a romance, remember?," he reasoned.

"_Had_, McGee," replied Abby. "Someone needs a romance now."

McGee took a step towards Abby, invading her personal space.

"I'm romantic, Abs." said McGee quietly.

"That you are, Timmy," replied Abby, blushing as they both reminisced about the past.

As McGee opened his mouth to speak, the intercom buzzed: "McGee! We've got something! Get up here!"

Tony's voice brought the two back to the present.

"Be right up!" yelled McGee, wishing he had more time to stroll down memory lane.

"Out, Timmy! I've got work to do." said Abby as she moved to her radio, turning the volume up.

McGee left Abby to her work as he walked towards the elevator. _I hope we can talk later_ he thought to himself.

* * *

_Why is he looking at me so strangely?_ thought Ziva as she tried to ignore Tony's stare and concentrate on the case at hand.

"The DVR purchase was made with the wife's credit card, boss. The date was January 20, 2011. 6:23pm." said McGee with a mixture of disgust and relief. "We've got her."

Tony snapped out of his trance and gave a low whistle. "I knew the wife did it."

"It was not her," began Ziva slowly.

Three pairs of eyes bore into her, all asking the same question.

"I interviewed her twice. She has a solid alibi. She was in Montana from January 18 until January 23 for her grandfather's funeral." finished Ziva, clearly exasperated.

She looked back at Tony, rolling her eyes when she realized he was staring at her once again.

"It sounds like the wife has been set up," concluded McGee.

All three agents turned to Gibbs who promptly stood up, went up the stairs, and marched into Director Vance's office.

"Campfire!" whispered Tony to his fellow agents.

The three agents gathered in a triangle, ready for their impromptu meeting.

"What's up with Gibbs and Vance?" asked McGee, looking from Tony to Ziva.

Tony just shrugged while Ziva contemplated.

"Maybe it has to do with the conversation they need to finish." she supplied.

Both of her fellow agents eyes widened.

"That's never good," whispered Tony.

As the door to the director's office opened again, revealing their leader, the trio hurried to their desks.

As they got back to work, McGee and Tony had the same thought in their minds: _When will we finish __**our**__ conversation?_


End file.
